How often do you clean your rifle?

J

Jose

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At one time we used to clean our rifles after every match (17 rounds).
Now I speak to some shooters and the response is quite different from shooter to shooter. Some shoot Moly and don't clean for 5-600rounds(or more). Others clean after every 100 rounds. I even spoke to several shooters that no longer use moly coated bullets and they don't clean their rifles until they have shot a minimum of 500rounds.

So here is my question, What type of bullet do you shoot (moly or not) and how often do you clean your rifle?

Jose
 
I shoot moly bullets and made the mistake of cleaning the barrel with 900 rounds through it. It was shooting great but I thought maybe I should clean it. It is now at about 200 down it and is starting to shoot like it did with 900. It keeps getting better without cleaning it.
I will never clean it again, until the rounds don't fit down the barrel :lol:

I do make sure the chamber is clean and if it rains I will run a dry patch down it, but other then that, I will see how far I can go without cleaning.
 
I can occur with maynard 8) I have seen how he shot with a clean barrel. And now I have started not to clean my barrel EVER!!! :lol: Going without clean at least 500 rounds now and still going strong!!! :p
 
Whenever, it needs it.

I just shoot until accuracy goes south. Some need it after 20rds, others 300rds. every barrel,cal, cartridge combo has its own likes and dislikes.

I believe that over cleaning does more to hurt a rifles accuracy. Almost every barrel shoots its best at some level of fouling. You just need to play around until you find it.

Just keep an eye on rust. If very humid, you better take care of that bore. Otherwise, the less you do the better.

Jerry
 
I'm of the same School as Mystic.
I don't do anything drastic till my groups open up, and only if they open up when the rifle is benched.
Offhand I have a hard time telling what with the wind that plays around our range, and the off days I am having this year! :roll:
Cat
 
Offhand I have a hard time telling what with the wind that plays around our range, and the off days I am having this year!
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Don't worry about what the wind is doing to your groups. Your elevation graph is a more important indication of group size. Unless you are talking about 100-200 yards here?
 
maynard said:
Offhand I have a hard time telling what with the wind that plays around our range, and the off days I am having this year!
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Don't worry about what the wind is doing to your groups. Your elevation graph is a more important indication of group size. Unless you are talking about 100-200 yards here?
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I think you may have misunderstood my post , Maynard!

Once the rifle is zeroed at a given distance ,
The wind , however is everything.

I shoot at all ranges from 100 to 1,000 offhand ( standing ) , kneeling and prone
with a variety of rifles from Sillhouette to Intenational free rifle, to just plain fun rifles, and am quite capable of hitting what I am aiming at.
Cat
 
Cat
I am not saying the wind is nothing, what I am saying is that if your rifle is shooting groups that are 1/2 MOA vertical but stringing them 4 MOA or more across the target (without changing the sights for the wind) you are really shooting 1/2 MOA groups, the wind is taking care of the 4 MOA width.
So, would you clean your rifle after having a sub standard shoot due to the wind conditions, even if you are shooting waterline shots for elevation?

I am a target rifle shooter, off the elbows, jacket and sling. My rifle now has 350 rounds through it since it was cleaned. Today it shot a 50.8V at 600 yards and a 50.9V at 300 yards. on DCRA targets. I am never cleaning again. :D
 
I also shoot belly rifles maynard !
No, what I meant by the group going to crap was not 10 rounds in a string, or a vertical group.
After taking in the condtions, checking the rifle for all the other variables, then i would run a patch through to see what's up.
But it would have to be a consistantly deteriorating shotgun typwe of thing.

One good target , or a five shpt group doesn't mean much to me, and normally if I shoot a bad target or have a bad range day, I look inward to myself before outward to the gear, unless it is an obvious loose sight for example.

The biggest variable is the nut behind the bolt, my father used to say, and he was a very experianced international coach, so I always try to look that way first.

BTW, congrats on your possibles, (what happened to the other 3 V's! :lol:
Fine shooting Maynard...
Cat
 
Cat
We are on the same page now, sorry for the confussion.
I really have no excuse for the 3 stray shots that didn't make it into the V. :D
The one at 300 was in the middle of the 5 ring, it looks really wide on my plot sheet, but was only 1/2 MOA out of the group.
The 2 missed V's from 600 where the result of not centering the group and pimpled out the bottom. :oops: shots 8 & 9
That's what the knobs are for on the sight I guess.
 
Well, crap happens sometimes, and we can just put it down to experience,
The more experiance you have, means the more crap that you have had to put up with!
:mrgreen:
Cat
 
Maynard, So when do you clean your rifle? Do you store it all year without cleanning? How do you clean your chamber? Do you use solvents? :?:
 
Jose
The only thing I did to clean it last year was wipe the outside down with a light coat of oil.
I use a chamber cleaning tool from Sinclair's to clean the chamber. A .40 cal bronze brush with a dry patch on it will do the trick. Just dont push it in too far :D
I am not going to clean it again until the groups open up. Which to me means, it won't hold 2 MOA for elevation.
It is going strong right now, so I am not going to screw with it by cleaning it. :D
 
I used to shoot a Rem 700 PSS and I would clean it everytime I returned from the range. I shot Sierra and mostly A-Max 168 gr plain...it shot great .Last year I got a LE2B and shot 155 Moly coated Nosler J-4, I clean it mostly to get the carbon out with solvents Hoppe's Shooters Choice..etc and would use a brush every once in a while, just out off habit. This year I haven't used the brush and I use ED's Red now and then. Since Juin I haven't clean it ,at all and last week I "finally" got some Sierra 155 , I moly coated them and shot the smallest groupe yet with this rifle. So I won't be cleaning it yet for a while . The guys I shoot with L-R , who use Moly don't clean till they've shot 500-600 :D
 
I clean my target guns after each range session, or usually with a few days of it. Lately this has meant after only 20-50 rounds or so. I swab and brush with a bore cleaner and then with a copper remover. If it was a long day at the range I might run a bore snake through it after 50 rounds or so, but usually wait until I'm home to do any cleaning.
After that I do the chamber with the bore cleaner.
I then flush the chamber and barrel with a light aerosol oil.
Usually if I am back shooting soon again I will swab the chamer and bore for any residue, but usually there is none as I try to let the gun sir dry for a while after oiling.
 
Does it ruin the barrel if u run a bore snake through it every 50 rounds or so?...i usually clean after every range session because it was drilled into my head in the reserves so its 2nd nature too me...but i read earlier in this topic that cleaning alot can damage the barrel...so my question is will it harm my barrel yes or no...? also i don't shoot Moly coated Bullets....
 
because it was drilled into my head in the reserves so its 2nd nature too me
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The reason behind this is so the rifle functions properly, not to improve accuracy :shock: Most military ammo is dirty (made by the lowest bidder)
Shoot moly and forget cleaning. Over 500 rounds now and still going strong.
This weekend produced a 50.7 at 300 50.8 at 500 and a 75.7 at 600. I won't clean the barrel at all during the DCRA, unless to goes to ####.
 
great thanx very much Maynard, I'll try that....how would moly my bullets? I shoot 6mm remington? and i am not sure if they sell factory ammo moly coated in that caliber
 
Buy a moly kit, or find someone to moly them for you for a small fee. You will need a vibrator/tumbler also.
I have an RCBS one that I have had for about 10 years. Instead of buying 2 or 3 bowls, go to Wal-Mart and buy the big Jello molds that look like a bunt cake tin.
Bunt cake tins will work, but are loud. :)
I use one for corn cob media to clean the bullets (10 minutes) and the RCBS bowl to do the moly in (2 hours or sometimes 10 hours if I forget about it) :mrgreen:
Forget the wax that comes with the kit. Is makes the bullet look like #### if you don't do it perfectly, and I find no reason to use it.
Once the bullets are all black with moly, roll them back and forth in an old rag or towel for about 1 minute. This takes off the lose moly and makes the bullets shine.
You can moly about 200-300 bullets at a time.
You will spend less time with the moly process then you would cleaning your rifle.
 
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